Disease Decimating Bats in Northeastern U.S

Disease has killed more than 90 percent of some bat populations in Northeastern states, according to a survey released yesterday by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The DEC survey in New York, Connecticut and Vermont examined 23 caves that are believed to have once been home to more than 55,000 bats, roughly 10 percent of the regional bat population.

The culprit is "white-nose syndrome," an ailment named for a white fungus found on afflicted bats. DEC researchers found that populations of the most common regional species, the brown bat, had declined 93 percent on average.